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In the year 2021, the Government of India had given permission to private companies to make delivery by drone with some rules. According to this permission, the air space was divided into two different zones. The first zone – in which drones cannot be flown at all without permission and the second zone – where any person or private company can easily use drones.
Apart from this, the production of drones in India has also increased significantly in the last few years. In 2018, 50 to 60 startups had orders for one thousand drones. Now by 2024, there will be 200 such companies in India that manufacture drones. They have orders for about 2500 drones. This means that the use and demand of drones has also increased significantly in India.
In such a situation, the question arises that even after three years of making rules regarding flying drones, why today the use of drones is limited only to the defense sector.
Why use drones for delivery?
The University of Tennessee recently released a report in which it was said that drone delivery will not only be six times cheaper than ordinary courier service. Rather they are also environment friendly.
When will that day come when not only medicines but also Gulawati kebabs from Lucknow will be sent to Gurugram by drone from door to door?
Rapid development of drone industry
According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries, the drone trade in India will reach $4.2 billion by 2025 and will increase to $23 billion by 2030.
Not only this, to promote the production of indigenous drones, the Central Government has banned the import of any type of drones from other countries except for research and defense purposes. This is about India. However, the use of drones is continuously increasing in other countries also. In the first half of last year, half a million commercial drone deliveries took place across the world and this is a record.
In which areas can help be provided by drones?
Recently, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has launched India’s largest remote pilot training organization in the Research Park. During this, Professor Parameshwara K of IIT Guwahati. Iyer said, ‘Our aim is to help other industries like agriculture, disaster management, real estate, logistics sectors with the help of drones in the coming years.’
There was talk of delivery by drone 10 years ago
The discussion about delivery through drones is going on all over the world not just today but for the last 10 years. Some Indian companies have also delivered goods through drones. In the month of September 2023, Gurugram company Sky Air had delivered Gulab Jamun and a pair of glasses with the help of drones.
The official website of Sky Air also claims that till now their company has made 2,150 deliveries with the help of drones in 8 states. According to the website, it has covered a distance of 11,500 km and the drone has delivered goods weighing up to 7,500 kg.
Drone delivery was envisioned to become common by 2018.
In 2013, Jeff Bezos, founder of e-commerce company Amazon, had hoped that by 2018, delivery of goods by drone would become common across the world. But today more than a decade has passed but the pace of the drone era remains the same. According to a report, in 2023, only 10 lakh parcels were delivered through drones across all the countries of the world.
Why drone delivery is not becoming common, understand in 3 points
Difficulty in delivering heavy goods – Even though the use of drones is said to be less expensive and environment friendly, light goods can be delivered with it. Transporting heavy goods is still a big challenge.
In fact, due to the drone moving up and down too much, there is a fear of the battery draining quickly. Therefore, while using a drone, experts suggest that one should try to keep it at the same height as much as possible.
Recently, a case of falling of a drone which was going to deliver chicken was reported in Gurugram. A drone weighing 30 kg was going to deliver chicken, after which it fell and left a crater at that place. This is the fear due to which delivery by drone was not possible till now.
Government regulations– Government regulations are also considered to be one of the reasons why delivery by drone is not common. There are many places where drones cannot be used. In such a situation, many companies do not use drones to avoid these problems.
Threat to security and privacy of common people– Due to the use of drones, some people may face threat to their security and privacy. Understand it this way, when the delivery person comes to the customer with an item, he has to first knock on the door and the item is delivered only after the customer comes out. But during the use of drone, it can be flown anywhere like balcony or window, in such a situation people feel that their privacy can be violated by this.
How many categories of drones are there?
Nano Drones: This drone weighs 250 grams and has been put in the category of lightest drones. According to government guidelines, no license or permission is required to fly such drones.
Micro and small drones: Drones weighing up to 2 kg are called micro and drones weighing 2 to 25 kg are called small. The person using this type of drone must have UAS Operator Permit-1 (UAOP-I).
Medium and Large Drones: These drones weigh more than 25 kg and less than 150 kg. These drones have been put in the medium category. To fly this type of drone, one must have UAS Operator Permit-2 (UAOP-II).
Will India become the center of drone production by 2030?
The capability of India’s locally manufactured or imported drones is basically limited to low and medium altitude drones. Even today, one has to depend on other countries for drones capable of flying at high altitudes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had signed an agreement for 31 Predator drones during his US visit a few days ago. These drones are called ‘High Altitude Long Endurance’ drones and they work at high altitudes.
Defense affairs expert Brigadier (retired) Rahul Bhosle said in a BBC report that at present India has no option to make high-flying drones locally and neither has any agreement been made with other countries. Is. In such a situation, it is difficult to say that India will become the production center of drones by the year 2030.
While talking to ABP, Qamar Agha, an expert on defense and international relations, said that if we talk about India, this country has a large technical class spread across the world, which can prove beneficial for its drone industry. However, finding funds for these purposes is the most difficult task. But if the government provides funds, India has a lot of potential.”
While going, also know who can fly the drone and how.
Two types of licenses are issued to operate drones. These have been named ‘Student Remote Pilot License’ and ‘Remote Pilot License’. Applicants applying for either of these licenses should not be less than 18 years and more than 65 years of age.
This license is applicable only to drones used for commercial activity. The education of the operator applying for drone license should be at least 10th or any other degree of general level. The applicant will also have to go through the process of medical exam and background check prepared by DGCA.
